Black and Gold
by Eboni
Summary: Too many constant things are changing in Jason Todd's life. He's a big brother, he's starting high school, Dick's going away to college; Falcon's dead. With everything in flux, his new constant is finding his birth mother which may prove to be something better left unknown. Part of the Black and Red Universe. (Warning: Extreme violence, character death)
1. Chapter 1

AN: I'm back! So sorry for taking so long to get this story started. I've been working a lot on my original fiction. I am actually doing something with this story that I did not do for the previous two. I usually have these stories fully written before I post, that's not the case with this one. So... updates may be a little slower than they were with _Black and Red_ and _From Yesterday_.

Any-hoo, thank you to everyone who reviewed my earlier stories that I may not have gotten a private "thank you" out to. And I hope you enjoy _Black and Gold._

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_Summary: Jason Todd, former Boy Terror, is going on his first extended family vacation overseas with an ulterior motive, to find his birth mother. But when the Joker decides to launch his criminal operation overseas, pleasure becomes Bat Business and the search for Jason's mother becomes part of the case. (Warning: Extreme Violence and Character Death)_

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Disclaimer: I wish I owned Batman and Young Justice and everything else in that franchise, but I don't. :(.

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_"And all around these golden beacons I see nothing but black"—Sam Sparro, Black and Gold._

Prologue

Livin' like I do, I don't sit around dreamin' of getting old and fat with lotsa grand-bastards sittin' around me begging to hear stories about my ass-kicking days. I bet Dickie-bird has those kinda dreams. He's soft like that. Bet Tim does, too. The both of them are probably gonna live to a hundred with no shortage of little blue-eyed buggers trailing after them demanding piggy-back rides.

Me… we'll see. I wouldn't bet on it, but ya never know, huh? Maybe I'll get old and be one of those grouchy assholes with a spiked cane ready to beat the brats that dare step on my property. I dunno; I don't see myself as a guy who lives past thirty. I mean, thirty's pretty damn old, right? Not that Bruce is old or anything, but his joints are creaking a bit is all I'm saying.

Shi-i-it. How'd I get so morbid? I don't usually start thinking about death until after I've snuck a beer or two. But graduation parties are depressing as hell when you're not the one graduating. Dickie-bird's flying, leaving high school behind and moving on to better things, while I still got three more years at Gotham North.

Somebody shoot me.

Please?

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Chapter 1

"Don't see why we gotta clean this shit up," I grumble. "Way I see it, it was Dickie-bird's party, Dickie-bird's mess."

Tim shoots a look at me as he knocks a trio of paper cups off a fold-out table into the semi-full trash bag he's got. "It's not that big of a deal, Jase."

Not that big 'uh deal. Huh. Trash duty after big brother's blow out while he drops us like bad habits to go to an after party by the lake? I snort and flop down on a patio chair, staring around the garden pavilion. Bruce and Alfie went all out, had the outside decorated like a rave with a live rock band, free henna tattoos, and iPads as door prizes for everyone who came. The only rules were: no alcohol, no drugs, and no one under 21 inside the house unless they were me, Tim, or Dick. Bruce had also rented some fancy port-o-potties, boys and girls editions, to make sure the party stayed out on the lawn from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm. By 10:15, the music shut down, the food got covered, and Bruce, Alfie, and a few security guards read people the "You ain't gotta go home, but you gotta get the hell up outta here" act.

It shouldna been a surprise that Dick went off with his friends. I mean, it's not like I shoula expected him to hang around with me or anything. It's not like he hung out with me at the party, or before the party.

Worker bees dressed in black muscle-tees and jeans, made to look like bouncers at a night club, hustle around, cleaning up the worst of the party mess. Timmy and I really don't need to be out here, but Alfie and Bruce thought we should pitch in so we wouldn't complete the stereotype of being "Wayne-brats". Dickie-bird's doing enough of that lately. His last month of school has been nothing but parties, driving to Bayville, New York to spend weekends with his motor-mouth cousin, sneaking in and out, and pretending the rest of us don't exist.

Bruce doesn't yell at him, and Alfie just shakes his head. They won't touch him, not the golden brat, not when he's going off to MIT in the fall—full ride by the way, not that he needs it. Let's see, leaving for MIT at 16, reigning National High School Gymnastics champion, graduated with highest honors and was only a few points shy of being his class salutatorian—yeah, that pretty much makes Richard Grayson untouchable.

"I'm done." I rap the fold-up party table with my knuckles as Tim walks by me with his trash bag. "I've done my community service."

Tim smirks at me. "It's not prison, Jase. It's just… high school."

I groan. High school. "Thanks for reminding me." Dickie-bird escapes, I move on to my sophomore year. Wish I was a brain. Dick's so smart his school didn't know what else to do with him, but bump him up grades.

"Is it really so bad?" Tim asks. He sits down across from me. His black hair's spiky with sweat from being outside so long. He puts his elbows on the table and waits for my answer, his blue eyes curious. My stomach twists a bit.

Having a little brother, like real little—he's 12—is weird. It's strange and kinda scary having somebody lookin' up to me. Makes me feel like I gotta be a better person, set an example and shit. I… I don't wanna do bad by him or fail him. I mean, Dickie-bird's leavin', and the kid's only gonna have me here to show him how to be cool.

It's frickin' hilarious how just a few months ago I hated the kid; now I'm keeping track of the bullies after him at his school. Yeah, I dropped by his little private school a time or two to "talk" to some guys who thought it was funny to give Timmy a hard time. Dickie-bird joined me the last time. It'd been fun doing something with him again, like we were a team saving the world.

I miss world-saving. Haven't seen the inside of the Cave in months, but I wonder if that'll last when Dickie's gone for real and Bruce's short a competent partner. Tim's… clumsy. He's getting better, but the public don't mistake him for being Robin anymore, not even when he wears a suit identical to Dick's.

"Jase?" Tim pokes my arm. "Hey, are you okay?"

I shake myself and run both hands over my short hair. The spikiness feels weird. My friend dared me to do it, and like a dumbass I couldn't back down. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine, Timmy. What'd you ask?"

"About high school. It's not really that bad, right?"

I look him up and down. He's scrawny, but starting to gain some height. He's almost as tall as Dickie-bird now, though that ain't saying much. D-bird still gets mistaken for a 13 year old. Oh yeah, he's gonna have fun at college. His nickname'll be "Jailbait".

I sigh. "High school sucks, T, but it ain't so bad if you make a few friends." I wanna tell him to keep his head down, don't start spouting nerdy shit, and stay out of Math Club, but I can't discourage him from being smart. He's another genius like Dick, but he's kinda shy, real insecure; too quick to try to please people. Grade A bully fodder. "Just do you and it'll be over in four years. Hell, it might be over sooner for you. Maybe you can skip grades like Dick."

Tim shakes his head. "My parents…" he trails off and looks away. His face gets kinda pale and he blinks fast. The kid really doesn't cry all that much for his parents, not anymore anyway. Claims he was never that close to them… but hell, they'd been killed last year. Nobody expects him not to cry.

Tim clears his throat. "My parents never wanted me to skip grades. They always turned the idea down. I think I…" he swallows.

"You wanna do something they'd like?" I offer. I shrug. "It's up to you, Tim. Do what you want. If it was me, I'd jump as many grades as I could."

Tim frowns at me. It breaks my heart how worried he looks; it makes me wish I could be happy all the time and hug people like I'll never see them again.

"Has Bruce… said anything else about…?"

I look heavenward as cement cakes in my lungs and breathing is just hard. "No." A little while ago, Dick found my real mom, well three ladies who could be. They're alive and out there. I wanna go to them, ask them some questions; figure out which one gave me up and why. I mean, I grew up thinking a crack whore who loved her needle more than me was my mom, and now I know she wasn't. One of those other ladies had me, and who knows, maybe that lady'll say I got kidnapped or tell me something that'll make it okay that she ditched me.

It's like everybody else around here, even though their moms are dead and all, can say their moms loved them, if not a lot, at least a little bit. Dick's mom loved him like crazy, Bruce's did, Tim's mom made sure he had everything he needed to be okay. I got none of that, and it hurts.

"Maybe he's still thinking about it," Tim says. "You know he doesn't like to jump into things that have to do with you or Dick."

"Or you," I add for him. Tim's still learning that once Bruce brands you as one of his boys, he's there for you. No matter how shitty or crazy you get, he's got you. I should know. I'm a gold medal worthy screw-up. I killed two guys—one on accident 'cause I'm a dumb shit, and one on purpose 'cause he was the sonuva bitch who shot Dickie-bird in the chest when he shoulda shot me. I start fights for the hell of it. I cuss like an inmate, I sneak cigarettes—and before Bruce, I stole shit. I've got a juvie record.

"No." Tim shakes his head. "It's different for you two. You're…" he lowers his voice, "you're the most awesome team there ever was. I can't—I'll never be a part of that, but…"

I groan. Timmy's hero worship is annoying, even more so because his favorite hero hands down is Dickie-bird. Timmy had actually seen Dickie-bird during his circus days and had a poster of the Flying Graysons on his bedroom wall at his old place. Wish I'd been able to see a show, but there hadn't been any money or time for stuff that normal little kids enjoyed back then for me.

I reach out and grip Timmy's wrist. "Hey, wanna go do something?"

"Huh?" Tim blinks, seeming lost. I love changing the subject on him like this. He doesn't know me like Dick, and sometimes he can't keep up. Dickie'd be on me like white on rice. _You're changing the subject, Jay-bird_!

"I didn't eat much," I say. Something about a bunch of high society creeps hanging out at the house wrecks my appetite. "Whaddaya say we ask Alfie if we can go get pizza at that place, huh?"

A bright smile lights Timmy's face up like Christmas. Fat Paulie's Pizza, the first place we bonded, stays open late. "You think he'll let us?"

I let go of Tim's wrist, looking back up at the stars. "I think if we guilt him just right, he might he even just drop us off and come back later."

Tim laughs and stands up, tying off his trash bag. "Okay! Let's go ask. I'm not that hungry, but… you know." He looks at the ground and digs his toe into the concrete and I snort.

"You're such a dork." I get up to grab him in a headlock, then I noogie him for all he's worth. He squirms and tries to throw me off, but let's face it. Tim can't break my grip. I let him go. "Hey, deal with my trash bag too. I'll go ask."

"H—hey!" Tim shouts after me as I walk toward the house leaving him with the trash bags.

Hey, little brothers gotta be good for something.

Bruce and Alfie are sitting at the kitchen table; Alfie's sipping tea while Bruce talks, the conversation ends when I come into the room. Both men look at me, and I frown at their expressions. Alfie's eyes glisten like a proud grandpa, and Bruce is grinning. Must be talking about Dickie-bird.

"Jason, good," Bruce says. "Sit down. I want to talk to you."

I blink. Oookay. "What's going on?" I run through everything I've done in the past week. I got a few A's and a couple 'uh B's on my final report card. I let Bruce sign me up for teen leadership camp without complaining too much. Nothing late night talk and grin with Alfie about worthy.

"When's the last time we took a family vacation?" Bruce asks still grinning, blue eyes sparkling.

This a trick question? "Like a vacay where we weren't staking somebody out?" I ask. "Um… never?" We did some day trip kinda stuff a few years ago and one time we went on a camping weekend, but the Bat signal can be seen a long ways off.

"Exactly," Bruce says. "We've never gone away together. I think that now's a great time, and…" He shares a look with Alfie. "…we're going abroad. A few countries were suggested to me by somebody that I thought you might be truly interested in visiting."

My heart pounds and my breathing speeds up. "Wha—huh?" Countries I'd be interested in visiting? Is he—could he be—"Bruce? Are you saying…?"

"Dick and I have been working together," Bruce says. "We've put together the perfect family vacation that will be rewarding to both you and him for doing so well this year."

My body's electric, I wanna jump up and down and yell and stomp. "Bruce, are we gonna find my mom?"

Bruce's smile dims a bit and he reaches out and puts his big hand over mine. "We're going to investigate and talk to the women, but Jason… there's no guarantee that any of them will tell you anything you want to hear."

"But still… still I'll know." My cheeks hurt I'm grinning so hard. I laugh and look to Alfie who's smiling at me. Friggin' Dickie-bird-like joy bubbles up in me. I wanna hug people just cuz I can. I hop up and run to Bruce, hugging him hard. He ruffles my hair and pats my back.

"Thank you," I say over and over. I didn't know… I didn't know how much it'd mean. I thought I did, but… God.

I'm gonna find my mom, my real mom.

I pull away from Bruce, still grinning. "When do we leave?"

"Two weeks," Bruce says. "That should be enough time to get our affairs in order. Unless you have something else you need to…"

"No." I shake my head. "Nothing going on at all. We could leave tomorrow."

"That's what I thought," Bruce says. He stands up and checks his watch. "I'm going out tonight. Could you get Tim for me?"

Jealousy bites me in the ass, but not as hard as it used to. "Actually Bruce, I was uh… coming in here to ask you guys something."

"What is it?" Bruce frowns at me.

"Tim and I want to go to Fat Paulie's tonight," I ask. "Can he get the night off?"

"Tonight?" Alfie looks at the clock on the wall. I can see the big fat 'no' in his eyes, but then something changes. "You didn't eat much at the party, Master Jason. You must be hungry."

I snort out a laugh, and nod. Alfie notices everything.

"Well, I suppose…" Alfie looks to Bruce who sighs but shrugs.

"That's fine," Bruce says. "How about…" He strokes his chin. "How about I take you and we all go."

"Really?" I stare. Okay, so Bruce has kinda been on a family togetherness kick, but a vacay and a pizza outing instead of Batman? Seriously? I think I need to check the news, make sure the polar ice caps ain't melting or anything.

"That sounds wonderful, Master Bruce!" Alfie says. "What an excellent way to start the summer. The only thing missing will be Master Dick."

"Yeah," I say, good mood deflating a bit. "Guess we gotta get used to that, though, with him moving out and all soon." That sobers the room. Doors open and close all around the manor; the clean-up crew still doing their jobs.

"But we won't start tonight," Bruce says. He pulls his cell phone from his back pocket.

"What are you doin'?" I ask.

"Telling Dick if he wants a car for college, he'd better join us for pizza in an hour," Bruce says. His fingers dance over the face of his phone. He slips it back into his pocket with a smirk and I laugh.

"You're awesome, Bruce," I say.

"Mmmhmm…" Bruce raises a brow. "By the way, are you and Tim done helping with clean-up outside?"

My mouth opens. "Ah…"

"No worries." Bruce claps a hand on my shoulder. "I told the crew to leave a few tables undone just for you. You can get them in the morning. Go get Tim, now."

"Wha…?"

Bruce tosses his head back and laughs, leaving the kitchen. "We'll leave in 15 minutes," he calls back.

I look to Alfie who's sipping tea again and looking quite content.

Well… fuck.

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AN: So, what's the verdict? Like it? Hate it? Don't care about it either way? Well, anyway you like it, let me know. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Hey! All right, so here's Chapter 2. Thank you for the response to the Prologue and Chapter 1. I hope to hear from more people reading the story. You all have to let me know if it sucks or not, lol. Take care!

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Chapter 2

I wake up at the sound of my door opening, I always do. I lay there listening for footsteps. When I don't hear any, I know who it is. One side of my bed depresses as Dick scoots onto it and over to me. He's got no qualms about personal space and sits as close I'll let him. He smells like outside, all leafy and shit, I catch a hint of sweet smoke on him too. I roll onto my back and blink up at him as my eyes adjust to the dark. Dull moonlight shines in through the cracks under my blinds and throws black and white stripes over his face.

He's grinning, nothing new there, but there's a glazed look to his eyes that makes me frown. "You been smoking?" I ask. Dickie-bird, smoking? Damn, never thought he'd be one to let peer pressure get to him.

"Nah," he drawls. He grabs one of my pillows and punches it before putting it behind his back and leaning back on the headboard. "Some of the other people were. I just hung out with them for a while, then I left."

I squint one eye at his striped face and reach over and turn on the lamp on the bedside table. "Ya left?" I glance at the digital clock next to the lamp. "It's like 3:00 in the morning dude. You hung out with those jerks til now?" He oughta be sick of them; he's been doing nothing but hanging out with his classmates for the past week and a half since his party.

Dick's smile is slow like spreading honey—the smile of somebody high as hell—and I'm starting to get mad as hell. I sit up, and grab him by the collar of his t-shirt, pulling him closer so I can glare into his eyes. If this fun-sized bastard is high, I swear I'm gonna… I blink. His pupils are pretty normal and I don't smell any liquor or smoke on his breath. It's just on his clothes.

Dick laughs and pushes me off gently. "No, I didn't hang out with my _classmates_…" He stops and laughs again. "Well, they aren't my classmates anymore, are they? Hah!" I glare at him and his grin gets bigger. "I didn't hang out with _them_ all night. I called Bruce, and I left that group before midnight and went to hang out with the Team. Ya know, everybody was finally free to get together and do something about me bustin' loose and all."

I growl. The Team, Juvie Justice. Only a couple of members of JV Justice know Dick's identity, but all of them got told that Dick's going off to college in the Fall without knowing he's Bruce Wayne's genius kid. 'Course they'd throw him a party, and of course they wouldn't invite me. Not that I'da gone if they had. I hate those losers—holier than thou, talentless, sidekicks. They don't do nothing by themselves, can't fight on their own. Without Batman to guide them and Robin to be an extension of Batman, their asses would fall apart. I want them to. I want Batman and Robin to cut 'em loose and let 'em fall.

"Jase…" Dick's tone holds a note of warning.

"Oh fine," I snap. He knows how I feel about his team.

"I wish you'd…" He sighs. He knows I won't, not after the last time I'd worked with them and they'd treated me like a homicidal maniac on the loose. But hey, he can relax. It's not like I'll ever be in a situation where I'll have to run into them again—not in costume anyway. It's not like I'm Falcon or anything.

We're quiet for a minute.

"Jase, when I'm away, I bet Bruce will let you…" Dick starts.

"Let's not talk about that," I snap. I don't want to hear about how Bruce might let me suit up again to fill in for Robin, because… My heart twists. I want it so bad. I want to help. I want to be part of the Bat team again, but if it doesn't happen… it'll be like crashing into a brick wall—again. No, I won't get my hopes up.

"Kay…" Dick sighs. "Fine." His grin comes back and a surge of amused irritation hits me.

"Okay, you ain't high or drunk, so what? What'd you do with Juvie Justice that's got ya in here grinning like a crackhead?" I ask. Did they go out and paint the Flash's monument pink? Did they steal Superman's shorts?

He grin almost splits his face in two and he starts friggin' humming like he's flying on X.

"What the hell, man? What are you so…" I stop. I stare and he hums. No. No. Fuckin'. Way. "D-bird, man, you… you… did you…?" I'm electric, my body's alive, I sit up on my knees, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him as he laughs me off. Is my brother a man now? Is he? "Dickie man, tell me!"

He nods and blushes and bows his head and I sit back, stunned and amazed, and impressed and in awe. "Duuuuuuude."

He chuckles.

"Dude!" I shout and he claps a hand over my mouth.

"Hey," he hisses. "Alfie let me in and didn't say anything, but if you wake the whole house he'll have me scrubbin' toilets and washin' dishes."

Okay, okay, all right, all right. Calm down. I mean, what happened to my bro is totally natural, totally awesome, but totally natural. It's… "Dude, who?" The only person I can think of is Barbara Gordon. Dickie's been hot for her since he'd started Gotham Academy and she'd been his lab partner first year. But nah, Dickie acted like nothing happened until he'd gone to meet JV Justice, meaning it couldn't be Babs, she isn't a hero or a sidekick, just a wannabe. She's like obsessed with Batman and I wouldn't be surprised if she sewed herself a suit and started trying to swing from buildings, but she hasn't lost her mind yet.

So, no, not Babs; someone on the team. Artemis—nah, she's hotter than hot, but that's Kid Loser's girl. Miss Martian? Nah, she's with Super Bastard. That leaves Rocket and Zatanna, and last I knew Rocket was into Aqua-jerk. So… my eyes go wide. "Dude, Zatanna?"

Dick bites his lip on a smile, his eyes sparkle.

"Whoa…" I shake my head and stare. Zatanna's really, really… "Out of your league! Dr. Fate's gonna stomp your ass!"

"He won't find out," Dick says and groans. Uh-oh… great news like that isn't supposed to be followed up with groans.

"What happened after?" I ask.

Dick rolls his head from side to side as if debating whether to tell me. "Aw… well, okay, so here's the deal. She doesn't want anyone to know we're a couple, so we gotta keep it secret."

"Yeah, and?" I don't get it. That's great, right? So Dickie-bird can talk to other girls without Zatanna getting all mad, because he's just keeping up their cover.

"I wanna date her for real," Dick says, his voice all serious. "I wanna take her out. Yanno… tell her who I am. It can't just be… like it was tonight. It's not right, not for her, not for me. I mean, it was…it was nice… I liked it, but I'm not that guy, Jase."

Now it's my turn to groan, but only in jest, ya know? I know Dickie-bird ain't like that. If he'd been okay with hiding out with Zatanna, I'd accuse him of being a pod person or something. I poke him in the ribs with my elbow and he swats the back of my head.

"So… you tell her that?" I ask.

Dick shrugs. "Yeah, and she said she'd think about it."

"What's her problem?" I ask. Girls can be so weird. Shouldn't a girl glomp all over Dick for wanting be a gentleman? I thought they liked that sorta thing.

Dick chuckles and flops back on my pillows, stretching his hands up toward the ceiling and making shapes with his fingers. "Well… just about everyone on the Team has coupled up at one point or another, and well… It clouded some judgments. SB screwed up missions and left us high and dry to save M'gann a few times; Wally goes crazy if he thinks Artemis is hurt somewhere. And now there's Tulah and Garth popping up to help the team and messing with Kaldur's head. Zanna got on her soap box and blasted out the whole group about how the relationships are making us unprofessional and all that. So, now it's like… what's everyone gonna say when it comes out that we hooked up?"

"That's fucked up," I say, but I can't bite back a grin. "But yanno, you're going to college D-bird, if ya drop the Team, it'd be no problem for you to be with Zatanna."

Dick sighs, but he doesn't hit me. I peer down at him; he looks like he's thinking about something. Whooa… hope fills me. "Dude, are you gonna quit the Team?"

He shrugs. "I dunno, Jay. Maybe. I mean, I'm gonna be all kinds of busy with school, and…" Those big blue saucers look over at me. "I haven't talked about this with Bruce or Alfie or anything, but…"

"But what?" He's kinda scaring me here. He tells me he's gonna drop JV Justice, and now he's giving me the moon eyes like he's been bad. "D, what's goin' on?" It's like old times, him lying here, talking to me like this; tellin' me stuff he hasn't told anybody else. This is my brother.

"Jay, I did really good this year with gymnastics, National High School champ with a lot of individual metals in events." He licks his lips. "I think… I wanna try out for the Men's National Team, see if I can make it. I wanna see how far I can get. Who knows, maybe I could make the Olympic team one year."

I let out a breath and stare at him incredulously. "Dude, you think Bruce would be okay with that?" Oh no way, no how. He didn't even want Dick to compete with his the high school team. The fight about this will be epic.

Dick winces. "I think I want this Jay. It's like nothing about my life has been normal, not that I'm complaining about being Robin or anything, but… I want some normal for a little while." His eyes glisten with unshed tears and I sigh, patting his shoulder.

"Nothin' wrong with that," I say. Though he should know normal sucks. Being a student with only homework and business prep classes to look forward to after school blows. But the Olympics, that's nothing to snort at, and he could totally do it.

"I've always had acrobatics, gymnastics," Dick says softly. "Been turning flips since I could walk. I'm supposed to be out there showing people, reminding them about the Flying Graysons, ya know? Robin's overshadowing me, and I didn't really realize it until I was up on that podium getting that gold medal—and God, Jay. Just hanging out with my classmates or talking smack with Pietro on the weekends is fun. I don't have to talk in code and worry that people might figure out I'm Dick Grayson under a mask. I…"

I blink, confused and worried. "D, you're not just talking about quitting the Team, are ya?"

He smiles at me, eyes still glimmering, and shakes his head. "No, I'm not just talking about quitting the Team."

"Oh man." I flop on my back beside him, staring at the ceiling too.

"Yeah," Dick breathes. He rolls over and props himself up on an elbow, facing me, and I do the same, facing him. "So… that's why I haven't been around much lately. I've been thinking about a lot, and don't know what to say."

"Bruce…" I don't know what Bruce will say. I mean, it's not like he can be all that mad about his kid not wanting to flip into danger anymore, but still… D-Bird's his true partner. Timmy and I are substitutes. Bruce will never convince me that when a night is rough he wouldn't rather have Robin with him than Falcon or Red Robin. "He'll be happy for you." He just might not seem like it at first.

Dick gives a breathy chuckle. "After he lectures me and gives me that disappointed look." His grin turns bitter and so does his laughter. "But hey, it's not always about Gotham."

"You dare say that in the House of Bat?" I pitch my voice deep, til' I sound like Dracula.

"Shut up, man." Dick jumps on me, tackling and tickling me until I cry mercy.

"I oughta kick you outta here," I grouse, flat on my back again and kick Dick when he starts laughing.

"Aww… did I hurt you?" Dick croons, cackling. I kick him again, rolling my eyes but I can't keep a smile off my face—for the moment. Then I think, when the summer's up, this'll be over. D-bird will be gone and now with him talking about National Teams and Olympics, I might see him even less than I'd originally thought. Shit. My chest aches.

"Whoa… hey, did I actually hurt you?" Dick's sitting up, leaning over me.

"I'm fine," I say, avoiding his eyes.

"What's up, Jase?"

My turn to shrug. "Just… thinking about vacay. In a few days, we'll be flying off to Egypt, and then off to your mountains where your gypsy folk came from. You let that circus know you might be in town to see them while we're in Europe?"

Dick frowns at me and is quiet for a second. "Yeah. I called Pop Hailey, got their schedule online and stuff. Depending on what happens, Bruce is okay with me breaking from the group for a few days to visit. But…"

I smirk at him. "So, if I find my mom and we get all goopy and wanna stay in one place for a while, you're gonna fly off?"

Dick blinks, frown still in place. "Yeah, but… only if it's okay with you, man. You get to make the decision when it's time."

I blow a raspberry. "D-Bird, you know I'm gonna tell you to go! Don't be stupid. This is a family vacay, not just a trip for me. All of us get to do what we want on it. Tim's gonna work on photography and take boring pictures, Bruce is gonna hook up with his international exes, and you're gonna go see your circus people."

Dick snorts. "Bruce's international exes, huh?"

"Who knows, we might get a stepmom," I tease.

"The ladies of Gotham would riot," Dick chuckles.

We lay in companionable silence for a long time.

"So you'd really be okay if I did my own thing in Europe?" Dicks asks.

I kick him again. "Ain't that what I said, Dick-head?"

"Just making sure, bro," Dick says with a sleepy sounding sigh. Blankets rustle on his side and I crane my neck to see him rolling over and curling up like he's gonna go to sleep. Geez… he's got his own room and bed, but ah what the hell.

"Night D."

"Night J."

* * *

The morning we jet off is warm and sunny. We're taking a commercial flight outta Gotham International, but going first class all the way. Me, Tim, and Alfie sit in those cheap airport seats facing each other, listening to planes taking off, airport announcements and people yapping to each other. D-bird's gone off to get airplane snacks, and Bruce paces, talking on his cell phone to somebody from Wayne Enterprises. The place's going nuts cuz Bruce told 'em not to call him after today. Lucius Fox is gonna be the boss while Bruce's gone.

I frown, a fluttery feeling in my stomach. Ten years from now, when I'm old and through college and stuff, I might be the one in charge when Bruce flies off to be Batman overseas. Makes me wish, again, that I could be smarter: better at math, and speaking and writing. It was easier just being Falcon. Beating bad people up is cake, studying sucks.

A camera flash nearly blinds me and I snarl. "Dude, enough with the picture-taking!"

Tim grins at me and tucks his little camera in his back pocket. "I'm making a vacation album. I bought a leather-bound one yesterday with thick pages and ledger lines for writing so I can write stories around the pictures."

The little punk's glowing he's so excited. You'd swear he'd never been nowhere before. I know his rich parents took him outta the country at least once, but… I grab the brat and tuck his head under my armpit, laughing when he squirms. Bet those trips with his folks weren't any fun. Everything was probably all structured with scheduled times to eat and take a crap.

Thin arms headlock me from behind and I gotta let Tim go or be choked out. Tim staggers back, hair standing on end, face flushed, but a big smile on his face as I struggle to get Dickie-bird off me. This ain't fair! I reach behind me, straining my arms to grab at him. I get him under the arms and tickle for all I'm worth, but D-bird ain't ticklish when he doesn't wanna be. Something hot and slimy touches my face and then he lets go, cackling like a maniac.

What the fuck? Did he just… "Did you just lick me, man?!" I spring to my feet, almost smashing into the coffee table between the rows of chairs, scrubbing my forehead and ready to fight. Golden Boy's going down.

"Master Dick and Master Jason!"

The fight goes outta me, but I'm still scrubbing my face as I crane my neck to look at Alfie. He's still sitting in his chair looking all proper and reading one of those house wife magazines. He sips tea from a paper Starbucks cup. His eyes pierce me over that cup and one eyebrow raises making a perfect "U". That takes talent.

"He licked me!" I whip around and point at Dick who's doubled over laughing, the bite-sized, ass-sniffing, face-lickin' dick!

"Boys!" Bruce is off his cell phone and walking over. He puts a hand on my shoulder and stares at Dick like he's lost his damn mind—and he has! "What is going on?"

"He licked me!" I shout again, voice squeaking. I wipe my slobber-tainted hand on my jeans.

"He tastes like a black olive," Dick snorts out, slapping his knees. He uses the heel of his hand to mop up tears from cackling so hard.

"Why did you…" Bruce cuts himself off, shaking his head. "Never mind. Guys, airport security is looking this way. The only reason why we haven't been tossed out is because I'm Bruce Wayne. Can you settle down? Maybe…" Bruce's waves at Tim who's sitting in a chair beside Alfie now, looking at the pictures on his camera. Swear the little punk's taken like 100 pictures just this morning. "Why don't you both take a page from Tim?"

Dick stops laughing real fast, blue eyes zeroing in on little Timmy. Now see, Dickie's like the model brother, I'm the one who teases and taunts while he soothes and reassures. But sometimes, Timmy has it coming.

"Sorry Bruce," Dick says with one of his mega-watt smiles and bounces off to look out of a window. We all watch him.

"Okay, so who slipped the jet fuel in his cereal this morning?" I ask.

"He's just excited about going to Europe," Bruce says, eyes still on Dick, a soft smile on his lips. "He's already got his circus tickets."

Huh. He missed his circus that much. Cute, but I ain't sitting next to him for 13 hours on a plane. "I call Bruce as an aisle mate!"

Tim looks alarmed. "Not fair!"

Alfred smiles at Tim. "It won't be so bad Master Timothy. Master Dick may fall asleep after a few hours."  
Or he won't, and Timmy will have to play with him. I can't help laughing at that and don't even snarl when the flash of Tim's camera goes off in my face again.

"Gotcha'," Tim says; then he blinks. "Hey… we should get a group shot. We need a family send-off picture."

Alfie nods. "A wonderful idea, Master Tim."

Dickie-bird bounces back over to us, checking a text on his phone. He grins from ear to ear. Wonder if he's talking to Zatanna. She'd agreed to eat it and go out with him, and they had gone to the movies and out to eat and junk. Bruce ended up being okay with Dick telling Zatanna his real name, since half the Team knows it anyway. Worst kept secret ever. That's one bomb dropped; wonder when he's gonna drop the other. Bruce isn't acting like he knows Dick's thinking about quitting Robin.

"Hey, do I have time to… what are we doing guys?" Dick tilts his head, watching Timmy setting the timer on his camera and Bruce checking himself out in a reflective surface nearby.

"Taking a family photo," Tim says. Alfie comes to Tim, reaching for the camera but Tim steps back. "No, Alfred. I'm setting the timer. You should be in the picture."

"But where are ya gonna set the camera so that it gets us all, genius boy?" I ask.

"Ah…" Tim scratches his head.

Dick hums. A couple, man and woman, walk by us and he rushes up to them, grabbing the woman's sleeve. "Excuse me…"

"Are you serious?" I ask, watching as Dick comes back with the woman in tow, her partner standing in place with his arms folded over his chest, toe tapping.

"She's gonna take the picture!" Dick announces, snatching the camera from Tim, pressing a few buttons and then handing it to the amused looking lady.

Bruce and Alfred stand behind me, Tim and Dick. Bruce puts his hand on my shoulder, I sling an arm around Dick's and Dick puts rabbit ears on Tim. Alfred smiles like a proud grandpa. The camera flashes.

"Let's get one with just you boys," Bruce says then, thanking the woman and taking the camera.

Alfie gets out of the shot and Tim, Dick and me make faces at each other. Should we pose or something? Ah—shit—Dick jumps on my back and I stumble a step before rebalancing and grabbing Tim around the neck and pulling him close. The camera flashes again and I dump Dick off.

He lands on his feet like a cat and gives me a quick hug. "This is gonna be asterous, man!"

For once I don't roll my eyes at his stupid word. I bump his fist with my own. "Yeah. This is gonna be awesome."

I don't know if I'd say this is the best day of my life, but it sure feels like it I'm so pumped. Overhead, a woman's robotic voice announces our flight number and that elite passengers should line up for boarding. Dick, Tim and Bruce start grabbing up their carry-on's sitting in a pile next to the seat Alfie had been in.

"Come on Jay, or you're sitting next to Dick!" Tim calls.

"Ah, hell no!" I grab my own bag.

"Master Jason!"

"Sorry, Alfie."

As we pass Alfred, we hug him. He's not coming. His vacation is spending two months away from us. I bet he can't wait. I'm the last to reach Alfie; he wraps his arms around me and I feel his breath on my ear.

"Good luck Master Jason, and… be careful with your heart." I pull back, gazing into Alfie's worried, dark eyes.

"I'll be fine, Alf," I say, patting his arm.

Alfie nods and touches my hair, then gives me a push after my brothers and Bruce. "Have a wonderful trip."

For some reason, those sound like famous last words. I shake it off and wave at the old man, then speed up to catch Bruce, Tim and Dick.

See ya Gotham. When I come back to ya, maybe I'll be somebody new.

* * *

AN: So, what's the verdict? Like it? Hate it? Don't care about it either way? Well, anyway you liked it, let me know. Please review!


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